


On his Shoulders

by snarkymuch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Whump, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23247748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkymuch/pseuds/snarkymuch
Summary: “Please, please,” Tony begged, “Keep breathing, kid. Don’t do this to me. You can’t leave me like this.”The morning started like any other for Tony. He kissed Pepper good morning and sipped his coffee. He scanned his emails and chatted with Pepper about the vacation they were always planning but never took. The calm should have been a warning, as the storm always followed.ORPeter and Tony get trapped in a building collapse and Peter is gravely injured.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 273





	On his Shoulders

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsreallylaterightnow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsreallylaterightnow/gifts).



> This was written for this prompt from itsreallylaterightnow: Peter and Tony get caught in a building collapse, Tony was in his suit so he’s not hurt but he’s stuck. Peter is hurt (rebar through the abdomen or something) and tony has to keep him awake while help comes!

_“Please, please,” Tony begged, “Keep breathing, kid. Don’t do this to me. You can’t leave me like this.”_

The morning started like any other for Tony. He kissed Pepper good morning and sipped his coffee. He scanned his emails and chatted with Pepper about the vacation they were always planning but never took. The calm should have been a warning, as the storm always followed.

Surrounded by holograms, Tony was lost in his work, trying to lessen the drag on his newest suit. It was Friday, and Peter would typically be coming over soon to work with him, but after being subjected to the saddest puppy dog eyes Tony had seen, he’d agreed to go patrolling with Peter.

“Boss, it’s almost four o’clock.”

Tony looked up from the glowing blue image that hung in the air. “It’s already four? Huh. Save everything, make a note that I need to investigate the thrusters. I’ll know what I mean.”

“Sure thing. Should I let Ms. Potts know you’re heading out?”

“Yep, tell her I’m holding her to her promise from this morning.” Tony scrubbed a hand over his mouth and stretched his back. A minute later, he asked, “Did she say anything?”

“She said she’s looking forward to you pampering her like the queen she is.”

Tony smirked, walking over to the window. “Of course, she is.”

The compound was more peaceful than the city. Most people might not realize it, but Tony appreciated the quiet. He’d grown up in cities, but there was something soothing about being close to nature. It was nice to look out the window and see the trees.

He checked his watch. Peter was probably waiting for him. He called his suit, and it formed around him, HUD coming alive. The doors opened with a swish, and Tony stepped outside, taking off into the sky. It wouldn’t take long to get to Queens—even without pushing his suit.

Soon, he was zeroing in on the blinking dot on his HUD. Peter was already out and saving cats from the look of things. As he came to hover over a building, he saw the kid talking to an older woman, who was holding a yellow tabby. Tony huffed a laugh. The kid had a heart of gold. He really was the best of them.

Peter seemed to be saying goodbye, waving to the cat before he looked at Tony and shot out a web, pulling himself into a swing and flipping onto a fire escape. Tony flew down to him, flipping open his faceplate as he landed beside him.

“Is that a churro? I thought you were kidding about those.”

Peter’s had his mask pulled up to expose his mouth as he bit off another piece. A little sugar clung to his chin. The kid was something else. “You want a bite?” He held it out to Tony.

Tony shook his head. “I’m all set. Do I want to know what you did to earn it?”

Peter shrugged, munching on another piece. “That was Mrs. Rodriguez. She’s always losing her cat. He doesn’t go far, usually down the street eating from the trash behind the bakery.”

“And you just what? Go collect him and get free food?”

“Pretty much, guy’s gotta eat, right?”

Tony chuckled. “Alright, kid. Finish your churro, so we can hit the streets and do whatever it is a spider does.”

Peter popped the last piece in his mouth, wiping his face with his hand. He tugged down his mask. “Okay, Karen, you got anything?” the kid asked.

Tony flipped his faceplate closed, checking the streaming info on the HUD.

The kid’s head picked up, and he looked toward the river. “Thanks, Karen, we’ll check it out.” The white lenses of the suit twitched, and Tony could tell the kid was smiling. “Karen says there’s police activity down by the docks.”

“Lead the way, kid.”

Peter swung between the buildings as Tony followed close behind. Every once in a while, the kid would do a flip, making Tony laugh.

When they got down toward the docks, there was construction equipment littering the area and fire trucks already on site. It looked like they were surrounding an old building that they were in the process of tearing down. A wrecking ball hung from a crane, and there was fresh damage to the side of the building.

Tony asked Friday to scan to the area and pull up any radio feeds. He wanted to know what was going on. Beside him, Peter was perched on the ledge of the warehouse, overlooking the scene.

Peter turned to him. “Karen says the buildings unstable, but there are people inside. She’s picking up two clear heat signatures.”

It confirmed what Friday told him. “Friday, scan the building, find the safest way in and out.”

They both startled when a chunk of concrete tumbled from the side of the building, hitting the ground in a cloud of dust. Peter stood, glancing from Tony to the building and back again. Something shifted in the air, and the lighthearted atmosphere changed. Something settled wrong in Tony’s gut, twisting his insides. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. “Don’t you dare go in there.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. I gotta help them. The building’s coming down.”

Before Tony could say another word, Peter was dropping from the ledge and heading straight into danger. Cursing, Tony fired his repulsors and followed. Peter was fast. He had to give him that. In a matter of seconds, he was already in the bowels of the building, helping the first person out. Tony sighed. He knew he couldn’t stop him. “At least be careful, and if I say get out, I mean it.”

“We can make it, Mr. Stark. I do this kind of thing all the time.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m going after the second, so you can stay clear once you’re out.”

Tony watched Peter’s progress on the HUD as he found the second person, guiding them out of the building. He was helping the older man, taking him to the ambulance, when the building creaked. Tony checked the HUD, expecting to see Peter outside, but the red dot was back in the building. His heart stuttered in his chest, and his mouth went dry. Another piece of concrete fell from above.

“Kid, where are you? This building is coming down. I told you to stay clear!”

A moment later, Peter’s voice came over the comm. “I have to find him first.”

“Find who?” Tony asked as he checked for life signs. “I don’t see anyone else.”

“The guy’s dog is still in here. I need to find him.”

The building groaned, and Tony looked up to see a crack spreading in the upper floor. “Building integrity at twenty percent,” Friday said. “It’s starting to come down, boss.”

“Peter, get out of there!”

“One more minute!”

Tony flew into the building, heading toward Peter. “We don’t have a minute. Get out now!”

He went deeper into the building, looking for the familiar red and blue. Finally, he saw him. Peter was kneeling beside a shaggy black mutt. His head lifted when he saw Tony. “I found him.”

Before Tony could respond, the building groaned, and his HUD flashed red warnings. He tried to get to Peter, to protect him somehow, but he didn’t make it. Concrete rained down, pinning him to the ground. Dust filled the air. Around them, the debris shifted and settled with creaks and groans. The HUD blinked in and out before the system rebooted.

Tony flipped the faceplate up to look around, trying to catch of glimpse of Peter. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Peter’s hand sticking out from beneath a pile of rubble. The dog Peter had been trying to save was beside him in a small opening, barking in the kid’s direction.

Tony tried to move, but he had the weight of what felt like the building pressing down on him, pinning him in place. The dust made him choke, and he coughed. Flipping the faceplate closed, he drew a breath, trying to calm his heart.

“Give me the kid’s vitals,” Tony croaked, afraid to his core at what he would see. A second later, the corner of his HUD was filled with information. Peter’s heart was beating. The band around his chest loosened a little at that. His breathing wasn’t good, though. “Friday, give me a report. What are we looking at?”

“The north face of the building has collapsed. What remains appears stable. Peter is under the debris. He has an injury to his abdomen caused by a piece of rebar that appears lodged in the wound, and there is a three-inch laceration to his thigh that is bleeding profusely. At the rate of blood loss, I estimate he has thirty minutes before hypovolemic shock sets in.”

“And then what?”

A beat passed. “And then he dies, boss.”

His lungs felt like they collapsed in his chest, and he struggled to suck in a breath. “What do I need to do? How do we get him out of here?”

“Applying a tourniquet to his leg will slow the bleeding. The rebar in his stomach can’t be removed. We’ll need to cut him free and take it with us.”

Tony tried to shift the weight on his back, making broken pieces of the building tumble to the side. He needed to get to Peter. Using his repulsors, he worked himself free and into the narrow gap between him and Peter, where the dog was still barking.

He could see more of Peter from this angle, and it didn’t look good. Blood pooled on the ground, seeping from beneath a piece of concrete. He watched the dust float on the puddle with a sick fascination for a moment before tearing his eyes away. Peter was dying, and he needed to do something fast.

Pushing the dog out of the way, he began moving the debris, wary of causing more structural damage. Everything seemed to be in a precarious balance. Shoving the last bit of rubble free, he uncovered Peter fully. If it weren’t from his chest rising and falling, Tony would think he was dead.

A piece of rusty rebar was skewering him. It looked like it had been stabbed in from above, so hopefully, it would be easier to cut him free. His eyes dropped to Peter’s right leg, where his suit was torn, and blood soaked the fabric, pooling beneath his leg. There was a nasty gash on his thigh. Tony was pretty sure he saw meat. He swallowed back against the bile rising in his throat and forced himself to move.

He knelt at Peter’s side, remembering what Friday had said about needing to apply a tourniquet. He looked around for something to use, and then his eyes fell on the dog and the collar around its neck. Tony retracted his gauntlets and reached for the dog. Its tail thumped the ground as Tony undid the collar. He ruffled the dog's matted hair once and turned back to Peter.

He slipped the collar around Peter’s thigh, hoping it would fit. It was close, but it did. Thankfully, it had been a large dog. He cinched it down as tight as he could and then buckled it in place. He eyed the wound, observing it for a moment. The blood bubbled up on the surface, but the flow seemed to have stopped. He let out a breath, turning to the rebar that held Peter in place.

“Friday, how is he?”

“He’s stable, boss, the tourniquet did the trick.”

“How long until help gets here?”

“Emergency crews are working this way, and I’ve taken the liberty to have Peter’s medical team prep for surgery.”

Tony flipped his faceplate up and leaned closer to Peter, peeling back his mask. “Good girl. Keep me updated. I’m gonna try to get him free.” Other than being deathly pale, Peter looked like he was sleeping. “Hey, kid, I’m gonna get us out of this.”

Peter’s brows pulled together, and his mouth twitched downward. Tony cupped his cheek.

“Shh, it’s okay, kid. Just relax.”

The kid’s eyes blinked open, his eyes searching before they fell on Tony. “Mr. Stark?”

“The one and only,” Tony said as Peter tried to sit up. Tony quickly pushed him back down. “No, no, no, kiddo. You’re a little busted up, but it’s okay. It’s fine. Nothing we can’t deal with.”

Peter’s eyes went wide as his gaze dropped to the rebar sticking out of his stomach. “Oh my god—”

“Easy, like I said, I got this.”

“It hurts.”

“I know it does, kiddo, but I’m gonna fix this. You’re gonna be fine.”

Peter nodded, eyes glistening with tears. His lip trembled, and it made Tony want to sweep him up in his arms and protect him from the pain.

Tony rested a hand on the kid’s shoulder, looking down at the rebar. “I need to cut this.”

Peter coughed, wet and raspy, making Tony look. There was blood staining his lips. His eyes drifted closed, and Tony gripped his shoulder harder.

“Kid? You doing okay?”

Peter’s eyelids fluttered, and he coughed again, blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. Tony’s heart skipped a beat.

“Friday! What’s going on? I thought he was stable!”

Peter’s face went lax, turning to the side.

“The rebar has shifted, and it’s no longer compressing the bleed. We need to get him out of here now, boss.”

Peter’s breathing slowed, breaths shallow and far apart. He was losing him.

“Boss, you need to cut him free. He doesn’t have much longer.”

Blood bubbled from Peter’s mouth, spilling down his chin.

“Please, please,” Tony begged, “Keep breathing, kid. Don’t do this to me. You can’t leave me like this.”

The gauntlets reformed over his hands, and he activated the laser, cutting the rebar a few inches from his skin. He shoved the broken concrete and rebar to the side and looked down at the kid. He was so still. Tony’s heart was beating so hard that he could feel it hitting his ribs.

He looked over his shoulder, seeing a small path that would hopefully lead out. “Friday, do we have a clear exit?”

“We should be able to make it out, boss. Just follow my directions.”

“When I move him, the bleeding is going to get worse.” It wasn’t a question.

“You’ll have minutes to make it out and to the medical team. Peter’s surgical team is already on site.”

“Okay, let’s do this.” Tony bent, sliding his arms under Peter’s back and his knees. Being careful not to shift him too much, he lifted him into his arms, pulling him close to his chest. Peter let out a raspy wheeze, but he kept breathing. His vitals ticked away in the corner of the HUD.

“Okay, lead the way, girl.”

Tony followed Friday’s directions and found his way out of the rubble, thankfully not having to climb over too much debris. Peter kept breathing through it all, which was all Tony could ask for. When he emerged from the building, the familiar sight of his own medical team greeted him.

He laid Peter on the gurney, pushed back as they took control, stabilizing the rebar, and securing his airway. He could have flown to the tower, but he disengaged his suit and climbed into the ambulance with Peter. He sat by the doors and watched as they tried to keep the kid alive.

It took twenty-seven minutes to reach the tower and ten more to get him into surgery. They could have taken him to the hospital, but there was just too much risk of someone learning his identity, and they didn’t have blood for him there. The tower kept bags of Peter’s mutated spider juice on hand at all times, and from what Tony had seen, Peter was going to be needing it.

The surgery took three hours, three hours that Tony spent pacing the small waiting room they’d sent him to. Pepper came by and checked on him, bringing him coffee, and Happy left an hour ago to get May. They should be back at any time.

Finally, when he thought he would lose his mind, the doctor came through the door.

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony spun to face him. “How is he?”

“He’s stable. We removed the rebar, and we stitched up his leg. With his abilities, he should recover within the week. He’s still asleep, but if you’d like to see him, I can take you to him.”

“Yeah, yes, I would like that. I want to be there when he wakes up.”

The doctor nodded. “Follow me.”

The doctor led Tony to the recovery room, and he stepped inside, stopping as soon as he was in the door. Peter was lying in bed, tubes and wires coming from him, looking smaller than his age. He looked like a child. God, Tony realized, he was just a kid.

Sucking in a breath, he steadied himself and then crossed the room. He grabbed a chair and dragged it closer to the bed, taking a seat. He covered Peter’s hand with his own, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles. Every time Tony blinked, he saw Peter’s face as blood bubbled from his mouth. He had to keep reminding himself that the kid was okay. He was alive and breathing and not dying under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Peter’s fingers twitched, making Tony sit up straighter, looking at his face. The kid’s eyes squeezed tight before they fluttered open. He looked confused, but then his gaze settled on Tony, and he relaxed a little, settling back into the pillow.

“Pete?” Tony asked, squeezing his hand. “You with me?”

Peter’s eyebrows pulled together, and then he looked down at his stomach, his free hand lifting from the mattress to touch where the rebar had been. “What happened?”

“Do you remember patrolling with me today?”

Peter frowned. “The building. It fell.”

“That’s right. You had the bright idea of trying to save a dog and nearly died yourself.”

The line between Peter’s brows deepened. “Did I save him?”

Tony couldn’t help rolling his eyes. This kid. “Yes, and he kinda saved you. I used his collar as a tourniquet for your leg.”

Peter licked his lips. “His name was Lucky.”

Tony sighed. “I shouldn’t have let you go in there. I should have stopped you—protected you. It’s my job to keep you safe, kid, and I failed. I’m sorry, Peter.”

“Wasn’t your fault, and I’m okay.”

“But you almost weren’t.”

Peter shrugged. “I would have done the same thing without you there. You kept me—you kept me safe. You saved me.”

Tony pressed his lips together, looking down at where he held Peter’s hand. “I suppose I can’t ask you not to risk your life like that again?”

“I can’t let the bad things happen.”

“Yeah, I figured that.”

Peter’s eyes started to drift closed, and Tony sighed. There was so much he wished he could protect his kid from, but he couldn’t ask him to change. Peter was the best of them, but that didn’t mean Tony wouldn’t worry every second he was out there. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still open to prompts, so feel free to send them. [tumblr](https://snarky-drabbles.tumblr.com/)


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